Porter voices support for a fair workweek

March 6, 2018

State Rep. Robyn Porter joined lawmakers and activists during a press conference on March 6 to advocate in support of Senate Bill 321 which would establish a fair workweek by helping to end the practice of on-call scheduling for Connecticut’s big box retail, food service, hospitality and home care workers.

Throughout Connecticut, countless of low-wage, hourly workers, struggle to earn a stable income because of unpredictable work schedules. Employees are often forced to work with little notice, maintain open availability for “on-call” shifts without any guarantee of work, and have shifts cancelled at the last minute.

SB 321 would give workers the stability and steady income they need to make ends meet by helping to eliminate on-call shifts and guaranteeing workers compensation for lost time when hours are cut unexpectedly.

By passing SB 321, supporters said Connecticut can lift up its low-wage workers and families with opportunities to budget their lives, plan childcare, pursue higher education, work toward economic advancement, stay healthy and enjoy family time.

“We sell the dream, the American Dream, and we tell people that if they work hard, they can play hard. But coming from a low-income, middle class I can tell you that is not the case. If we expect people to work hard and be able to play hard, then we need to supply them with whatever it takes to get that done. Unfortunately, the way we are headed is requiring people, like myself not so long ago when I was raising my children, to work two and three jobs to make ends meet," Porter said during the press conference.